Man admits to misdemeanor after felony drug-dealing charge is dropped

A rural Norwalk man was convicted Wednesday of having a drug-related scale when an officer investigated an altercation.

Nicko Del Leon Raymore, 34, of 1186 E. Peru Olena Road, pleaded guilty to an amended misdemeanor count of possession of criminal tools. As part of a plea deal, the state agreed to dismiss one felony count of trafficking in marijuana in connection with the same Oct. 14 incident.

"The marijuana had been bundled. It was a small amount of marijuana," Huron County Assistant Prosecutor Daivia Kasper said after Wednesday's hearing.

Raymore and Huron County Public Defender David Longo agreed to withdraw a motion to suppress evidence as part of the plea deal. Longo said his client suspected there was a possible Fourth Amendment violation, but decided the plea was in his best interest.

Trooper Rick Reeder, of the state Highway Patrol's Milan post, was in the courtroom ready to testify if the evidence hearing had proceeded.

On Oct. 14, Reeder was on U.S. 250 in Norwalk when he saw two people involved in some sort of altercation.

"He stopped his vehicle," Kasper said, and the trooper contacted Raymore. "The other individual walked away from the scene."

When the trooper frisked Raymore for possible weapons, he found a scale typically used for weighing drugs, Kasper said.

"At that point, Mr. Raymore was taken into custody. He was cooperative with the officer," she added.

Raymore earlier posted a $5,000 bond. He faces up to six months in the Huron County Jail and a $1,000 fine when he is sentenced May 14.

In Norwalk Municipal Court, the defendant faces multiple charges in connection with a Dec. 27 traffic stop by the Norwalk Police Department. Raymore goes to trial April 4 on four child-endangerment charges -- one for each child in the vehicle, all of whom were younger than 18 at the time.

Officer Dave Daniels pulled over Raymore at 11:38 p.m. Dec. 27 on Milan Avenue at East Main Street.

Raymore's breath test at the police station had a blood-alcohol content level of .098 percent, Norwalk Law Director Stuart O'Hara said earlier. The legal limit for drivers in Ohio is .08 percent.

At the scene, Raymore also was charged with driving under the influence, a red-light violation and a child support-related driving under suspension. Police kept the four children and an adult occupant at the scene until a sober person could pick them up.